Manchester United Rumours

26 Nov 2024 19:17:55
One of the more interesting stories I read this week is the possibility of zirkzee going on loan to juve with Douglas Luiz coming to united on loan it's not gone well for him in Italy. Good player when at villa. He is a player that would suit us at the moment I would think.

27 Nov 2024 22:33:07
Doubt it would happen. Amorim hasn't had enough time to assess if Zirkzee fits into his plans, it would also leave us lacking more numbers up front. While Zirkzee isn't a striker, he can play as a 10 or false 9 whereas Luiz is a CM. I don't see him leaving Turin where he only recently moved with his partner, Alisha Lehmann.

28 Nov 2024 07:07:05
Easy story to write that.

28 Nov 2024 13:37:14
Not that anyone has been necessarily impressive to start the season (bar Amad), has anyone else been severely disappointed in Zirkzee? I don't see him excelling in any traits out there on the pitch.

28 Nov 2024 13:57:15
I can not believe after watching Martial is last few years, we signed one of the only strikers in the world that Martial could beat in a race.

28 Nov 2024 15:49:12
Very good dsg. 🤣
Martial tearing it up in Greece.
1 goal in 12 games.

08 Nov 2024 11:56:24
Luke shaw back in training. I know everyone gets very skeptical but its great news and so is Malacia.

Every bit will help Amorim and having almost a full squad after the break is great news. Post break we have loads of games both league and europe and cup competition and having everyone back gives me hope to still have a good year.

I think that only leaves Kobe and Maguire yet to return.

08 Nov 2024 12:50:46
Please don't have hope. You'll only be disappointed.

08 Nov 2024 13:17:48
If nothing else, it's a short term boost to get us through to January when the club can look to bring in someone more suited to the type of wing back role Amorim wants.

08 Nov 2024 14:59:41
Nothing speeds up muscle recovery like the presence of a new manager.

09 Nov 2024 01:56:11
Or a euro final.

09 Nov 2024 07:36:51
Hopefully Shaw stays fit for the rest oft he season and a club comes in and buys him.

09 Nov 2024 10:01:34
Shaw being fit is like a solar eclipse, temporary.

No doubt he will get fit again at some point, but he'll end up injured again soon enough. He's also likely to pick up more injuries and take longer to recover as he gets older.

Unfortunately given his wages and injury history it's unlikely that anyone will be prepared to take him off our hands. Which means he's likely to be here until his contract expires in the summer of 2027.

We will have to bite the bullet with him and buy a replacement for the first team, while keeping him as an incredibly expensive squad option.

I don't think he suits playing the wingback role that Amorim uses as it's very physically demanding. Amorim also tends to value attacking output over defensive solidity in those positions.

I've said previously that Shaw might need to become a CB as he ages to prolong his career as fullback is probably the most physically demanding position currently in football, and his body increasingly doesn't look up to the demands.

In that respect a back three system is probably ideal for him as it allows him to play as one of the wider centre backs which is sort of a half way house position between being a CB and a fullback. It'd be much easier for him to adjust to that position.

Amorim has also has previous for playing fullbacks in those wider CB positions.

Maybe he can be back up or competition for Martinez at LCB. Although given Martinez's own recent issues with injuries I'd be slightly concerned about having potentially two players for that position who are both injury concerns.

To be honest the more interesting news is that Malacia is now back and will potentially soon be available.

Maybe I'm paranoid, or maybe it's my Spidey senses tingling but something just doesn't seem quite right about Malacia's injuries.

The club have been fairly tight lipped over his injuries, when they aren't with others. He's now been out over 18 months with a knee injury. Luke Shaw snapped his ankle and wasn't out for that long. Other players with ACL injuries are back within 6 to 8 months nowadays.

He showed some promise before the injury, whether he can get back to that level again after such a long lay off remains to be seen. I'm also not sure about his suitability to be a wingback. From what I remember he was solid at defending, very good on the ball and inverting into midfield but wasn't a rapid overlapping attacking fullback. While unlike Shaw he doesn't have the physical frame to become a CB. I'm not sure he has a natural position in the 343 shape.

He might need to go on loan next year to play regularly and get the number of minutes he will need to get back up to speed after such a long lay off. Although his contract expires in 2026, which would mean letting him go for free, or extending his deal. Maybe the best option is buy a new LWB in January and loan Malacia out then until the end of the season to try and prove his fitness and attract buyers. Then maybe sell him for something next summer.

Our LB/ LWB situation really is an absolute mess. Shaw and Malacia who neither look ideally suited to playing LWB, neither can be relied on to be fit, and neither can realistically be sold. Young Amass who is highly rated, but isn't quite ready yet, and we sold Alvaro Fernandez who is doing a great job at Benfica.

We need to buy at least one LWB/ LB at a bare minimum. Depending on how soon Amass will be ready and whether he can deliver on his potential; we might well need two new players in that position.

I think for that reason we absolutely have to go big and buy the absolute best option available next summer, or in January if they are available.

For me that's Rayan Aït-Nouri, as simply put I don't believe we can get Alphonso Davies. Players like Grimaldo at Leverkusen and Nuno Mendes at PSG are other great options who have also played as wingbacks before. But again both are probably out of reach for us.

Other good and available options would be Antonee Robinson at Fulham, Alfie Doughty at Luton and Milos Kerkez at Bournemouth all look really good EPL proven options. While Miguel Gutierrez and Bradley Locko look the most suited young up and coming options who are unproven in the EPL.

I'm not a fan of Tyrick Mitchell as an option as he seems far too defensive and lacking on the ball quality for me. He'd be fine on a free as a back up option maybe, but is nowhere near the level we need for the first 11.

Of those that we could probably sign Aït-Nouri and Doughty are the ones who have excelled when playing as a wingback in the EPL with a back three. Which should probably put them higher on the list of options. Ideally we should be looking for a player who has shown top class potential/ ability when playing in the role we want them to play for us. Antonee Robinson I think could easily adapt as he started his career as a winger, he's also a nice age profile (27) if the club has real faith in Harry Amass becoming a top class player. He'd be able to hold down the position for the next few years until Amass (who'd only be 20 at that time) could start to take over.

However, given Aït-Nouri's form, potential, suitability as a wingback and proven in that role, age (23) and EPL proven status he just seems like the ideal choice above all others available.

09 Nov 2024 14:05:20
Must be an international break coming up.

09 Nov 2024 15:02:23
Definitely a fan of Aït-Nouri, and seems obtainable in that he plays at (supposedly) a much weaker team who could easily be changing a few things around in January. Great attacking outlet too. Energy, pace and stamina are vital in these wingback positions (assuming Almorim chooses to use them) and I don't feel we have that on the left, beyond moving Garnacho back, which initially might sound like a demotion of sorts into a less attacking position but needn't be, Amorim has deployed both fullbacks and wingers in the roles.
Agree Davies will be off the table, if he goes anywhere it will be to win something at a top club, we're a few rungs down from there atm but will hopefully come.

09 Nov 2024 20:27:33
Garnacho should be left as an attacking winger on his day he is one of our most potent attacking forces. With a strict demanding top coach he willearn to do his defensive duties and improve his delivery of passes into the front men.

10 Nov 2024 16:27:47
Milos Kerkez and Leif Davis are 2 I'd keep an eye on.

10 Nov 2024 18:59:22
Spenno

Aint noory is terrible and a head less chicken defensively. I can't see us being interested at all.

Tom

spot on.

11 Nov 2024 07:50:36
Luke Vhaw is a very good lad and know him and his family. He is not what you lot make him out to be. He trained hard to play for his country. No shame in that and no shame in getting injured for trying. Most will not be playing football if you saw his leg after he broke it. Right mentality and united type player.

11 Nov 2024 10:14:42
I'm sure he is a nice guy. I don't think anybody is making him out to be anything in particular. As a united player he has been very average or below imo. He as you say got a bad injury that he never fully recovered from. That no doubt stunted his potential and meant that he had both mental and physical challenges that never allowed him to be as good as people hoped he would be. Missed more than half the games we had since he signed. Struggles also with his body shape and that's also been a big issue for him. Perhaps a new manager will see him have a nice swansong to his Untied career which imo will be remembered by me as very underwhelming for a whole host of reasons. Hopefully he stays fit and starts making a positive contribution soon we need all our players to do that.

21 Nov 2024 23:38:36
Luke Shaw was outstanding the last time he returned from injury. While I agree that some of these overpaid celebs don’t need molly coddling LS has always given his all and deserves a little more respect than some of these comments suggest.

27 Nov 2024 20:13:35
Shappy a bit came out about Malacia.

Apparently he refused to use the clubs preferred surgeon. Went for surgery in the Netherlands and there was loose cartilage or shards of some kind found causing irritation post op meaning he had to go back under the knife.

My expectation is that club don’t want to make this a big deal and also protect resale value. Might me wrong.

01 Nov 2024 18:00:42
Ed now Ten Hag has gone are we still going to be interested in going for Frenkie De Jong?

{Ed002's Note - Perhaps.}

01 Nov 2024 22:46:18
At least now we can read stories of us being linked to every Past or present Sporting or anyone Portugese. Will make a change.

03 Nov 2024 10:00:03
Amorim had said in a press conference that he will not look to sign any Sporting players in the January transfer window.

He seems like a man of his word, so any media outlet linking us to Sporting players in January are almost certainly talking out their rear end.

I'll be honest there are probably only a 4 or 5 players that might be worth getting from Sporting. Players like Inacio, Diomande, Debast or Quaresma obviously know the system and we will need at least one CB.

We've been linked with Hjulmand in the past (last summer), but if I'm honest I don't see us going for him after we've signed Ugarte. He isn't quite the profile of midfielder we need in my opinion, and he'll cost a premium.

Gyökeres is probably the big one that'll be linked. Mostly because we lack goals and strikers are sexy players to link clubs with and articles linking strikers get the most clicks. Yet I cannot see a world where we go for him. Not after spending 100m on Højlund and Zirkzee in the last two windows and when you consider that Gyökeres will cost a bare minimum 80m but more than likely north of 100m. I can't see us blowing 50-70% of our summer budget on a player for a position that we have good options in. Not when there are other areas of greater need.

Marcus Edwards will probably be linked, especially as he's English. I'm not sure he's at the level we need and we probably have enough options in the wide forward positions for Amorim to try and get something out of them. Players like Bruno, Mount, Amad, Garnacho and Rashford. Even Zirkzee could play in one of those positions. While we have some interesting youth players coming through like Shea Lacey, Jack Fletcher, Amir Ibragimov, Bendito Mantato, Ethan Williams and Samuel Lusale who could all end up playing in those roles and might offer some more depth. So I don't see us needing to sign a player in this position.

The final one I could see us maybe looking at is Geovany Quenda the 17 year old right wingback that has broken through this season. He fits the profile of player the club are looking at under the new ownership. But with us having both Dalot and Mazraoui at the club I think if we were to look at Quenda it would be in 2-3 years. Let him get a few seasons under his belt, see how he develops and then if we need a new RWB look to bring him in when he's still very young at 20 or 21.

Overall I doubt we'll go for Gyökeres or Hjulmand, as both would be expensive and while they are probably amongst Sporting 3 or 4 best players neither are profile of player that is of greatest need.

Quenda is someone who I expect we'll keep an eye on over the next couple of seasons, but not someone to pursue right now.

Really just leaving one of the CB's who could be a realistic target as they are all good enough, know the manager and the system, play in a position of need and fit the clubs profile of transfer targets. Also if Sporting's new manager moves away from the 343 shape then Sporting could probably afford to sell at least one of their CB's without it really hurting their squad.

One of Inacio, Diomande, Debast or Quaresma are the most likely possible signing we could look to get from Sporting next summer.

Although with the new structure at the club, of actual football experts
in key management positions, I doubt we'll see the club pursue former players of he current manager as a transfer strategy moving forward.

04 Nov 2024 15:17:26
Amorin needs to start the job and assess what he will be working with first.

There will certainly be a keep and sell list. Hopefully he is able to promote and develop a few youngsters aswell, as it is always great to see a few academy players come through.

Personally, he will have to hit the ground running. Hopefully Ruud can get 2 more wins before he hands the reigns over.

05 Nov 2024 05:08:00
A lot of the players have 7 months to convince him they deserve to be here next year imo. It will be a busy summer and depending on our financials we may see quite a few gone. Quite a few are out of contract anyway so we will need to buy many players if they are let go or bring some kids from the academy through.

I watch the academy games to cheer myself up and they are a really good bunch. No idea if any are ready for first team.

I watched Amorim's press conference for their CL game and some British reporter's behavior was appalling and really disrespectful and insisting he speaks in English which he declined. It was very strange behavior by the reporter. Need to block out the noise.

05 Nov 2024 08:34:45
Bom trabalho Ahmad!

05 Nov 2024 18:01:22
Hardly disgraceful behaviour lol, playful at worst.

05 Nov 2024 18:53:11
Spenno have you seen it? It was actually pretty bad. Insistent and entitled, and the reporter came across like a bell end.

I thought Amorim handled it well, and came across classy and unruffled.

The reporter has previous for trying to harass managers.

He did a similar thing with EtH while he was still Ajax manager but was agreed to join United. He chased him and tried sticking a microphone in his face, demanding he answer questions about Manchester United while he was preparing for a game with Ajax.

He's a clown and should be banned from all future press conferences.

05 Nov 2024 20:36:02
Of course I’ve seen it, or I wouldn’t have an opinion :p
You’d think he’d commited murder from the reaction.

06 Nov 2024 18:59:48
Amorin was ready for it and he and the Sporting media team were totally prepared and dealt with. He was sending out the message he was solely focused on the City game and not being distracted and it worked.

I rather fancy the reporter fell into his trap, an English reporter at a press conference deliberately held in Portugese, the reported got played here.

29 Oct 2024 15:44:12
Guess its confirmed now with 10m being paid off. Great if that's true.

29 Oct 2024 16:10:19
All he needs to find now, is some centrebacks with a bit of pace because ours are all so slow, like cart horses but hopefully Lenny is quick and adjust to epl, he needs to find a striker or two, because we got zero in that department needs a LWB who can play a dozen games on the trot….

Sell off half a billion pounds worth of crap that ETH bought in

Then just maybe we can build something positive…. Fingers crossed.

29 Oct 2024 17:25:41
Or maybe he believes there are players in those individuals and he can coach them into a team.
Remember he won't be able to add much in January, so he will have to work with this squad for the rest of the year.

29 Oct 2024 18:44:55
I am convinced there is better there or at least hoping, then they been showing, surely there must be, the law of averages must say out of all the players Eric added surely some of them must be OK although I have to be honest I not seen much that fills me with confidence, not as if they did not know Eric most of them he coached before, but hardly shows he been coaching Antony for 4 years! And I would virtually say every player digressed under ETH it’s hard to think of a player that’s gone in right direction, possibly Onana looked better this season, but the rest. well.

29 Oct 2024 22:23:50
There is definitely great potential in our squad not enough to challenge for the title but enough for a really good manager who I stills discipline and tactical structure.

30 Oct 2024 00:02:57
Maze,

Let’s see how things go, why be negative before he’s even started?

30 Oct 2024 03:24:25
There are some very good players in this squad who simply need a system that works and coaching to improve.

The right coach will improve this side immensely.

If it is Amorim and he okayed his preferred formation, Dalot and Mazraoui would make excellent wingbacks.

A back three of de Ligt, a ball player like Yoro and Martinez to step into midfield looks strong.

Two midfielders of Mainoo, Cas (who I think would work well in this formation) and Ugarte feels strong, and any of the front three would fit this.

No doubt we need a decent lwb, and another midfielder.

I’m getting hopeful - it’s the hope that kills you.

30 Oct 2024 06:44:32
Hoping we buy Alphonso Davies. I think shaw is a really good player when fit but unfortunately he seems to be struggling with injuries and its not going to get easier given his age. He would be a great back up option for martinez as a back 3 or left wingback considering you need rotation and he can't play 50 games a season.

Or maybe Amas and also the kid at benfica who we have a buy back clause are the long term solutions as wingbacks. We still will need a left footed player who can play as a cb as a back up for martinez. Shaw ticks the box and did very well playing there when martinez was injured.

30 Oct 2024 08:48:44
Ahmad H,


I think Davies will end up at RM. He would be a brilliant free transfer.

30 Oct 2024 19:57:15
Have to agree, better coaching will improve us, but interested to know who the VERY good players in this squad are?

31 Oct 2024 01:26:51
De Ligt, Martinez, Yoro, Ugarte, Mainoo, Garnacho, Bruno, Hojlund, all have shown they can be very good, you could even include Rashford who can be very very good but also very very bad. Time will tell if Amorim can get these players playing at their best but if he does then we will be fine.

31 Oct 2024 15:17:30
Hope your right, but imo
Deligt. far too slow for epl
Martinez …very rash and gone backwards since injury
Yoro…who knows he not played a epl game yet, so how on earth do you know?
Mainoo…player in there for sure but stagnated under ETH
Garnacho…. player in there but very wasteful
Bruno…yes 100% if he not switched to every position going…and not captain!
Hojlund…not for me, nowhere near good enough to lead the line
Rashford…Yes when he wants and clearly did not want under ETH.

02 Nov 2024 09:51:52
Mainoo stagnated under EtH 🤣🤣🤣

Surely you're trolling?

He didn't start playing for us until January, how on earth are you saying a 19 year old with less than half a season of senior football under his belt has "stagnated"?

As for the rest, MdL has looked good, he's not the fastest, but he's not slow. His pace is around average for a CB. I was one of the more skeptical fans when he signed, but so far I haven't seen anything that justified my skepticism.

Martinez hasn't gone backwards, he just hasn't got up to full speed after having a bad injury, then having a set back during recovery, then picking up a new injury shortly after coming back from the original injury.

Yoro is a highly rated player, he looked good during pre-season. Granted that was only pre-season. He was also excellent in Ligue 1 last season.

Garnacho has great potential and is currently our most consistent goal contributor this season with 5 goals and 4 assists. Yes he can be wasteful, pretty much all 19 year old forwards are. They are still learning.

Bruno and Rashford it's just not up for debate, over the past 5 years they have not only been our most consistent attacking players. But their numbers put them amongst the top ten players in the league over that time.

I'm not sure what you expect from Højlund. He's had one season where we were injury riddled and awful, hardly creating any chances. He was in and out of the team due to his own injuries and was trying to settle in a new country and league. Despite that his chances conversation rate was 56%. For context elite strikers such as Kane typically have a chance conversation rate of around 25% (Kane's last season was 26%) . The reason he didn't score more goals was that he was averaging 1.1 shots per game, Kane on the other hand was averaging 4.6 shots per game last season.

It's unlikely that he'd be able to, but if he maintained that conversation rate and was being provided with 4+ chances a game then he'd be scoring twice as many goals as Kane. If his conversation rate dropped by HALF and he was being provided with 4 chances a game then he'd be matching Kane's scoring levels.

Yet you don't think there's a player there. Sure he's 21 years old and his form will dip and peak over the next few seasons. But if we can start regularly creating 3-4 good chances a game for him then we potentially have one of the best young forwards in Europe in our squad.

28 Oct 2024 18:22:43
So Ruben Amorim it is.

28 Oct 2024 18:30:41
Was just about to post this. Looking like it. Is this for now or in the summer? I’m assuming now as we are supposedly working out a compensation package.

28 Oct 2024 18:54:20
Or is it simply a rumour?

28 Oct 2024 19:10:56
This is definitely a forward thinking move if they pull it off. Plays the sort of football the new ownership want, used to a European set up like we are developing and given time will be a success.
Also if rumours are true will get one over City as looked like an option if Pep leaves.

28 Oct 2024 19:32:26
If it is Amorim then let's hope he brings his star striker with him.

28 Oct 2024 19:43:26
Even my goolies are crossed.

28 Oct 2024 20:07:59
I hope for your sake Ork it's a quick resolution then.

29 Oct 2024 04:57:29
Of all of the managers that we’ve been linked with, Amorim and Xavi are the two I’d be most happy with.

I can’t help but wonder what this would mean for Ruud though. He seems to have been brought in to replace Ten Haag when he inevitably got the boot, so I can’t imagine he’d be too happy if a new manager had already been lined up before he managed his first game. Even if Amorim doesn’t come in until the end of the season, knowing that no matter how well he does he’ll still be out of a job come August will no doubt be frustrating.

29 Oct 2024 06:22:06
At least Ugarte should get a lot more minutes, he was part of Amorim's title winning team 3 years ago.

28 Oct 2024 23:01:29
Agreed Salford. Amorim and Gyokores could be a dream double swoop. Watched a lot of him when he was at Coventry - he's an unbelievable talent.

Man City and Arsenal are both interested. Ed002 is there any fresh United interest? Would he be a realistic target if we landed Amorim?

{Ed002's Note - Viktor Gyokeres (S) After only joining in 2023 Sporting have no interest in selling but fear a club could simply pay his €100M buy out clause in full and try to persuade him to move. Sporting fear Chelasea may do that and have previously avoided the subject during discussions over another player and a separate issue - and whilst Chelsea has a preferred option he is proving difficult to sign. With Viana moving to Manchester City, it is possible they could opt for him as the fear losing Haaland. He has attracted scouts representing Manchester United, Spurs and Arsenal with Spurs showing an interest. A wildcard would be PSG, but again, not first choice or Juventus if they sell Dusan Vlahovic. Sporting are looking to a new contract and an increase in his buy-out clause.}

29 Oct 2024 10:49:28
Never had him down as a £100m player, but we definitely need something. Can't see that kind of money being spent any time soon. If he plays wingbacks LWB should be the immediate concern.

29 Oct 2024 12:00:35
€100m = £83m

If Solanke is a £55m-£65m striker, £80m+ seems about right.

29 Oct 2024 14:04:43
If Antony is £80m then Gyokeres should be a world record fee.

29 Oct 2024 14:14:34
Quenda is someone who we hopefully look at too.

29 Oct 2024 16:05:46
That’s alright. Give it a year or two and Amorim will be the latest “unless” “clueless” manager when our players decide to chuck him under the bus.
Then it will be the latest rinse repeat and fail.

29 Oct 2024 16:18:02
Did not know Gyokeres played in the championship. Read he picked sporting over 8 pl options.

{Ed001's Note - Coventry City and Everton turned down the chance to buy and instead paid more for, I think it was Beto instead. No wonder Everton are struggling with abysmal recruitment decisions like that.}